Changes of antibody and cytokine levels in serum of people infected with Schistosoma japonicum after praziquantel treatment

Objective: To detect the levels of soluble egg antigen( SEA)-specific antibodies IgG,IgM,IL-4 and IFN-γ in serum,and the counts of IFN-γ lymphocyte in peripheral blood of people infected with Schistosoma japonicum after praziquantel treatment. Methods: Serum in the positive group were collected from 15 stool egg-positive patients with schistosomiasis in Jiangling County of Jingzhou City,Hubei Province,and serum in the treatment group were collected from 15 stool egg-negative patients with schistosomiasis treated with praziquantel for 8 months,and negative serum from 15 local healthy people. The levels of SEA-specific IgG,IgM and IL-4,IFN-γ in serum were detected by ELISA. Three cases of each group were selected to detect the count of SEA-specific IFN-γ lymphocytes in peripheral blood by ELISPOT. Results: ELISA results showed that the levels of SEA-specific serum IgG,IgM in the treatment group decreased significantly compared with the positive group,and the levels in the treatment group and the positive group were significantly higher than that in the negative group( P 0. 05). While the levels of IL-4 and IFN-γ in serum of treatment group significantly decreased compared with the positive group( P 0. 05). ELISPOT results showed that,compared with positive group,the counts of SEA-specific IFN-γ lymphocytes in peripheral blood of treatment and negative groups were significantly lower( P 0. 05),while there was no significant difference between the treatment group and the negative group( P 0. 05). Conclusion: The various levels of IL-4,IFN-γ in serum and SEA-specific IFN-γ lymphocytes in peripheral blood can be used to assess the efficacy of praziquantel treatment for schistosomiasis infection. In addition,the levels of IgG,IgM in serum have a supporting role in the efficacy assessment of praziquantel.